88 Enter Dairy Awards in First Week

For Immediate Release
8 November 2012

88 ENTER DAIRY AWARDS IN FIRST WEEK

Exactly 88 entries have been received in the 2013 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards, since entries opened just one week ago.

Entries in the New Zealand Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year, Farm Manager of the Year and Dairy Trainee of the Year are being accepted online at www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz. They close on December 20.

Mrs Keeping says there have been 24 entries in the sharemilker/equity farmer contest (up from 18 at the same time last year) and 34 entries in the farm manager contest to date.

“While we are happy with how entries are coming in, we would always like a few more,” national convenor Chris Keeping says. “Certainly it is back on the same period last year when we had received 103 entries.

“We have received 30 entries for the dairy trainee contest, which is down on the 49 we had received at the same time last year.

“There’s a heap of activity happening in the regions over the next few days so I suspect that will create interest and activity. It is also human nature to enter at the last minute!” she says.

Entrants first enter one of 12 regional competitions being held around the country, with the winners of those contests progressing to the national finals. In 2013 the national finals will be held in Wellington.

Four regions are today hosting five regional launch events, aimed at informing interested people about the awards, demonstrating how easy the awards are to enter and what some of the potential benefits may be.

Mrs Keeping says a generous early entry incentive is on offer. Three Honda XR125 Duster farm bikes valued at about $4000 each will be drawn from those that enter online before December 1, with one farm bike to be won in each contest.

The Dairy Industry Awards are supported by national sponsors Westpac, DairyNZ, Ecolab, Federated Farmers, Fonterra, Honda Motorcycles NZ, LIC, Meridian Energy, Ravensdown and RD1, along with industry partner AgITO.

More information about the awards, launch events and early entry prize details can be found on www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz.

ENDS

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